This invention pertains to protective eye and face shields. In particular, this invention is a multipurpose protective eye shield for protecting the mucous membranes of the eyes, nose and mouth from physical contaminants, improving vision of the wearer, and/or preventing exposure of the wearer's eyes to possibly dangerous levels of radiation.
In many fields, there is a need for an eye shield which can protect the wearer from both physical contamination and from radiation. For example, medical doctors, dentists, nurses, pharmacists, laboratory workers, electricians, welders, painters, policemen, and firemen are among some of the people who require shields for protection from flying debris, contaminants, and/or radiation.
Furthermore, it would be useful to have a shield which is capable of magnification or which is capable of correcting the wearer's vision. In addition, it would be useful to easily interchange lenses on a face shield to achieve the various purposes as needed. For example, a wearer might selectively need, first, a magnification lens and then an ultraviolet radiation protective lens over a short period of time. For this reason, the various lenses should be able to be used in any combination, as needed, and should be conveniently removed from the eye shield, or from the wearer's line of vision, when no longer needed.
The use of lasers is becoming more widespread in many fields, particularly in fields of medicine and dentistry. The use of lasers can frequently cause dangerous levels of emission of radiation, which may be harmful to the vision of those nearby. Thus, it would be convenient to have a protective eye shield which is adaptable to include a lens for filtering various types of radiation, depending on the particular need.
Specifically in the medical field, safety eye glasses are used to protect the mucous membranes of the eyes, nose, and mouth to prevent the spread of contagious diseases. All devices worn by doctors and other hospital staff should be sterile. Therefore, there is a need for a protective eye shield which is autoclavable.
More generally, protective eye shields should not easily fog when the wearer perspires or the temperature of the surrounding atmosphere changes.
Therefore, to satisfy the variety of needs left unmet by existing protective eye and face shields, a new, multi-purpose, protective eye shield is provided which can protect, improve vision, and prevent exposure to radiation.